1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the bonding of a single- or multilayer pipeline to another plastics part, e.g. to a quick connector.
2. Discussion of the Background
There are known bonds between a pipe and a plastics part where the plastics part acts as a mandrel broaching the pipe. In this process, the pipe is widened in order to receive the nipple of the plastics part. The pipe then replicates any profile present on the nipple. This bond is required to have maximum resistance to permeation and leakage, to withstand high separation forces, and to resist distortion.
In the case of bonding of a fuel line and a quick connector, the use of a “wedding band” is also known (e.g., see DE 41 27 039 A1). The “wedding band” is forced onto the pipe prior to the process of broaching by a “mandrel,” and during the process of broaching by the “mandrel” it is likewise widened, the separation forces thus being increased by virtue of the additional material.
However, the capabilities of a bond resulting from broaching by the above-noted “mandrel” do not meet all requirements, particularly not at high temperatures like those likely to occur in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle. Under such high temperatures, there is a marked reduction in resistance to separation and in resistance to distortion, the result sometimes being that the bond loses its coherence.
Other applications, such as medical technology applications, demand that the bond has coherence and stiffness.
One way of eliminating this problem consists of welding the two components to be bonded, for example, by high-speed hot gas welding, infrared welding, or electrical sleeve welding, or by means of a high-frequency field. The process most frequently used in plastics technology is ultrasound welding. Ultrasound is a term used relative to sound in a frequency range beyond the range perceptible to the human ear, e.g., from 20 kHz extending to frequencies of 1 GHz. In industrial ultrasound welding, an electrical method is used to excite the oscillations, by producing electrical oscillations in a generator. The piezoelectric converter principle, which underlies ultrasound welding, permits the electrical power of the generator to be converted into mechanical energy at very high efficiency. Electrical oscillations thus produce mechanical oscillations of identical frequency. Conventional ultrasound frequencies for plastics welding are from 15 to 40 kHz, but it is also possible to operate at substantially higher frequencies (e.g., up to 1010 kHz).
These ultrasound converters always oscillate longitudinally, which means that the direction of propagation and the direction of oscillation are coincident. An amplitude transformer unit, known as a sonotrode, couples the ultrasound converter to the energy-conducting welding tool. With the aid of the sonotrode, the longitudinal wave is substantially all conducted into the work piece to be welded. In the zone where welding occurs, the sound waves are converted into heat, initially via interfacial friction and then via both interfacial friction and friction at the molecular level. The material in the zone where welding occurs melts and melt flow occurs due to sonotrode pressure.
Examples of these processes are shown in W. Land, Kunststoffe 68 (1978) 4, pp. 233–237. However, the only arrangements known hitherto are those where the movement of the sonotrode takes place perpendicularly with respect to the area to be welded. If the area to be welded has a profile design, for example, a conical profile or olive profile on the stem of a quick connector, it is not the surfaces of the profile that are referred to here, but rather the outer surface of a cylinder represented by the stem. The profile then acts as an energy flow director which gives an energy concentration with a defined start (trigger) zone and welding zone. If a pipe is then welded to a quick connector, the parts to be welded have to be rotated once around their own axis so that an annular weld can be produced. This can cause problems if the individual components are bulky. In addition, the areas to be welded have to be mutually superposed prior to the welding process. For the bonding of a pipe and a quick connector, this means that a process of broaching using a “mandrel” still has to be carried out first. In the case of the abovementioned bond, therefore, the use of conventional ultrasound welding does not represent any simplification of the process, but rather an additional operation.